Kids
by sandis86
Summary: Carol and Doug are trying to get pregnant again. It just doesn't work...and then they get to know Travis, a little baby, that lost his parents...
1. Chapter 1

Hey all! Here I am again, writing a new story. Don't ask me where I got the idea from, I just had it and I wanted to write it. Thanks to my dear friend Axel who helped me with this! Hope you all like my story! Pls review!**  
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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Mommy!" the little girl shouted as she ran into the bathroom where Carol was sitting and staring at the pregnancy test in her hands. She almost jumped when she heard the scream. "Oh honey, you scared me there! What's up?" "I need to pee!" little 3 year old Tess said who was just learning to go to the toilet. "Ooh, c'mere, I'll help you", Carol answered and helped Tess up the toilet seat. "Hihi", Tess giggled when she was ready. "See, this is how it works! So great that you remembered to tell me when you have to pee! You're a big girl now", Carol smiled and kissed Tess on the cheek. "And Katie isn't?" the little girl asked. "Not yet...but you're going to tell her what you just did and then she's gonna want to do the same, I'm sure!" Tess was really proud that she was a big girl now, her smile showed. "Okay mommy", Tess answered and ran away again.

Carol sighed. The twins were getting so tall already and she missed the times they were babies. She missed the baby scent, their cries at night, the breastfeeding, the changing of the diapers. Now they were three years old already and learning how to use the toilet. Carol was really proud of them and she loved both girls deeply, but there was also the wish to get another baby with Doug.

She remembered the talk she had with him some weeks ago.

_"What are you thinking about?" Doug asked crawling into bed and realizing that Carol had something on her mind. "I wanna have a baby, Doug!" she answered out of the blue, looking at him. Doug smiled at her. "You what?" "A baby, Doug. I want to have another baby with you!" "Wow...you're really sure about this? I mean, I'd love to have another baby, but..." "I know, Doug. But it have been three years and Dr. Coburn said I can have future kids..." Carol answered, taking his hand in hers. "Yeah...well..." "Doug? Do you want to be a daddy again?" Carol now asked, sitting up and turning to him. Doug smiled again. "That sounds wonderful", he whispered and placed a kiss on Carol's forehead. "I'd love to be a daddy again...I love you and I could have a thousand babies with you!" "Well, let's try for just one this time", Carol laughed and kissed him._

"Hey, what's up?" Doug interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to him. "We're still not pregnant", Carol answered with a sigh and showed the pregnancy test to him. "That sounds so familiar..." he murmured and took her hand. "It's okay. We're not stopping to try it, okay?"  
>Carol nodded. "Okay!" she answered with a weak smile.<p>

Why all this again? Why couldn't she just be like other women who get pregnant when they wanted to get pregnant? Why was she one of the women who didn't get pregnant so soon? She didn't understand it.

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><p>"Girls, get ready for kindergarten!" Carol called to her daughters who were still in their room. "We coming!" Kate called back and seconds later they ran down the stairs. "Don't run down the stairs, kids", Carol said and the twins nodded. "Sowy mum", Kate said and put on her sneakers. "Not mum…It's mommy", Carol answered, shaking her head smiling. "But mum is awright, yes?" Kate asked, standing in front of Carol. "Well…yeah, it is…now let's go!" Carol smiled and put her hands out so the kids could join her.<p>

"Sandra will pick you up today…daddy and I will come home later then, okay?" Carol asked and bent down to her daughters. "Awright mum", Kate answered and put off her coat. "I love you two", Carol said and kissed both girls on the cheek, "have fun!" Tess and Kate waved back to her before they went into the room. Carol chuckled but now it was time to get to the hospital.

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><p>"Did somebody die?" Carol asked when she entered the silent ER at Washington Medical Center. "No…but there's the possibility. A young family came in…father was driving the car, a truck hit them. All three of them injured badly…" Matt, the med student answered with a sigh. "Three?" Carol asked, now getting curious. "Yeah…they had their baby in the car…" he answered and Carol looked around. "Is Doug there?" she asked without looking at him. "Think so", Matt answered as he went away.<p>

Carol made her way to the pediatrics ER. "Doug?" she asked silently when she entered the room where Doug was examining the little baby. It had a tube down his throat; his little hands were tied down on the gurney. "How is he?" Carol asked and Doug looked up at her. "Not good. His heart stopped beating for almost 15 minutes. We're waiting for the x-rays now…" Doug answered and Carol nodded. "What about the parents?" she asked again and Doug shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know…they're up in surgery." Carol sighed. "Oh God…and I thought this would be a calm day…" Doug smiled at her. "We never have calm days down here…you're not used to it anymore since you're in the transplant team!" Carol nodded with a weak smile. "What's his name?" she asked, looking at the baby again. "Travis. Only about three weeks old…" Doug answered, controlling the machine that helped the little baby to breath. Carol nodded, thinking that this was so unfair to this little being. She traced a finger down Travis' cheek and wished him all the luck in the world.

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><p>"I see you're missing the ER!" Betty smiled when she saw Carol looking through some charts. Carol looked up with a smile. "To be honest, sometimes I do!" Betty shook her head. "Don't lie to me…" "I'm not lying…I love my work and I don't want to miss my shifts in the ER", Carol answered. "But I don't get it. How did you manage all this? Twins, a full-time job, head nurse…" Betty asked who now had the job as head nurse. "Well…I always loved working and I've had a lot of help when the twins were little…you'll get used to the manager job, believe me!" Carol answered again and smiled. "Hopefully…" Betty murmured, working on the shift plan again. Carol just giggled. She was happy to still have some shifts in the ER but the work on the transplant team was really great.<p>

When she saw Doug coming out of the elevator, Carol looked up from her paper work. "Hey…how's it going?" she asked but Doug just shook his head. "They didn't make it. Rhonda's kidneys failed and her husband had too much internal bleeding…" "That's horrible", she murmured and Doug hugged her to kiss her forehead. "It is…" Carol suddenly backed away from him. "What about Travis?" she asked, thinking of their baby, who was all alone now. "We're still searching relatives…but the family isn't living in Seattle, so we don't even know if there is anybody…" Doug said with a sigh. Carol just took a breath. This all seemed so unreal.

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><p>At the end of her shift she went into the ICU to visit little Travis. "Hey, little one", she whispered and took a seat beside his little bed. She touched his little hands, which were now already untied. "I'm so sorry Travis…your parents are in heaven now..." She stroke over his fingers again. "I'm so sorry…"<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all! Soooo, new chapter! Hope you liked the first one! Thanks for the one comment, I was really happy about it :D Okay. In this chapter you get to know the au-pair of the Hathaway-Ross family. I never had a job as an au-pair, but somehow I thought of me working at their place, so her name is Sandra *lol* (yeah, I'm crazy...)

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

On the way home both Doug and Carol remained silent. Carol just thought about the accident today and about Travis, when suddenly Doug's cell phone rang. "Who is it?" Carol asked. "It's Cindy, can you answer it?" Doug asked and gave her the phone. "Cindy?" Carol asked, "yeah, sure…okay, I'll tell him. Thanks…bye!" She hung up again. "You need to go back to the hospital", she now said to Doug. He sighed. "Why, what now?" "Police and FBI are there, it's because of the accident", Carol answered and Doug nodded. "You wanna go home to the twins?" he asked and Carol nodded. "Yeah…unless you want me to come?" "No, it's okay. I'll see them later then", he smiled and some minutes later they arrived at home. "Good luck!" Carol said and kissed him, before she got out of the car. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you?" she asked into the open window and Doug started to laugh. "No, not this time!" he answered and drove away.

Carol sighed. She wondered what was wrong but was all smiling when she opened the door to the house and she could hear Tess and Kate sing a song. "Girls, I'm back!" Carol shouted and got out of her shoes and jacket. "Hey mum!" Kate shouted and Carol rolled her eyes. "Hey Sandy, how were they?" Carol asked as she got into the living room where the au-pair was playing with the twins. "They were great…again!" she answered, stroking over Tess' curls. "Good girls! Did you get something to eat already?" Carol asked. "Yeah, Mrs. Fisher was here, she had some chicken leftover, there's still something in the fridge for you and Dr. Ross", Sandra answered and got up from the floor. "Doug", Carol corrected her and Sandra smiled. "Okay, Doug, then!"

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><p>"So, what are you doing tonight?" Carol asked as they both got out of the twins' room, after they brought them to bed. "I don't know…watching TV, I guess", Sandra answered shrugging her shoulders. "Oh great. Wanna watch 'Friends' downstairs?" Carol asked. "You like 'Friends'?" Sandra asked and Carol nodded. "Sure…there's a new episode airing today! C'mon, I'll get us some beers and popcorn!" Sandra smiled. "Okay, good idea!"<p>

"Oooh, I always loved Chandler and Monica", Sandra said and Carol nodded. "Yeah, they're really cute together…but I love Phoebe, she's a wonderful character", Carol answered and took a nip of the beer. "Yeah, she's funny!" Sandra laughed and watched the screen again. "So, how do you like it here?" Carol now asked. "Oh, it's great, really. I love Seattle…and the twins are great, and so lovely!" Sandra answered and Carol smiled. "I'm glad…and we're really happy to have you here! Y'know, when this year is over, you can always come back…or maybe stay longer…" Carol answered. "Thank you, Carol", Sandra said and they hugged, when suddenly the front door went open. "This must be Doug", Carol said and got up from the couch.

"Hey", he said when he entered the living room, kissing Carol. Sandra watched them with a smile. "Hey…how was it?" Carol asked curious. Doug sighed. "You can't imagine this…" he murmured. "Can I have one of those?" Doug asked, pointing to a bottle of beer. "Sure", Sandra said and handed him one. "I'll go into my room then…" she said and got up too. "No need to go", Doug answered, sitting down on the couch. "Nah, it's okay, I'm tired anyway! See you tomorrow…and thanks for the beer, Carol!" Sandra smiled again. "You don't need to get up in the morning, I'll be here! Sleep well!" Carol answered and Sandra went upstairs.

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><p>"So?" Carol now asked, taking a seat beside Doug. "They weren't even Travis' parents", Doug answered tiredly. "What? You're kidding, right?" Carol asked. "FBI said they kidnapped him from a children's home down Baker Street…Travis…they don't even know if this is his real name, but they must've planned this for a long time, I mean, they had IDs and all! I never thought they couldn't be his parents…" Doug told her. "Travis came to the children's home because his mother died and there was only his grandmother left. She's too old to look after the baby. And she had no idea who the father was…her daughter committed suicide after Travis was born…" Carol listened carefully. "Oh God, this is horrible", she said, putting a hand on Doug's lap. "I know, but Travis is okay now, thank God", Doug answered, giving her a weak smile. "What about him now?" Carol asked. Doug looked at her again. "He'll be coming back to the children's home unless they find a foster family for him", he answered, drinking from his beer. Carol smiled at him. "Really?" he asked. "Why not us? I can stay at home from work, we have Sandy here…the twins would love it", Carol said. "I would love it…" she finished in thoughts. "But…are you sure? I mean, what if we can't have him? You remember how depressed you were after you didn't get Tatiana?" Doug asked, taking her hand. "Of course I remember. I didn't get to have Tatiana because I wanted to kill myself, remember? This time it's different!" Doug looked at her again and he knew that Carol wouldn't change her mind about this. "Let's talk about this tomorrow, okay? I'm really tired…and can't think straight", he answered and Carol nodded.<p>

Some minutes later Doug walked into the twins' room and watched them sleep silently. Kate was all spread out on the bed while Tess was wrapped up into her blanket. He started to think about Travis. Doug always wanted to have more kids with Carol and he knew that she wanted a baby just as badly as he wanted one. But could he love a kid that wasn't his own? Doug had no problem with his skin color or anything, but he didn't know if he could be a father to the boy, who wasn't his. "What do you think girls? Would you like to have Travis as your little brother?" he whispered to his daughters but didn't get an answer…


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay, I don't know if anybody is reading my fanfic, because only 1 review...but I'm posting anyway. Hopefully there is somebody out who likes it :D

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Doug woke up the next morning, directly facing Carol. She always looked so peaceful in her sleep. He couldn't resist to touch her cheek and when she felt his hand, she smiled. "Can't you sleep a little bit longer?" she murmured and Doug chuckled. "Nope…sorry", he whispered with a smile. "How late is it?" Carol asked without opening her eyes. Doug turned around to look at the alarm clock. "Half past six…" "Man…what is wrong with you? It's our free day…close your eyes again!" she murmured but Doug just chuckled again. "I love it when you're nasty in the morning!" Now Carol opened her eyes. "I'm not nasty…I'm just tired!" Doug didn't answer but kissed her instead. Now Carol chuckled. He nibbled on her earlobe and kissed her neck. "I know what you have in mind to do…but stop this now!" Carol laughed complaining but Doug didn't listen at all. He kissed her again, very passionate and now Carol couldn't resist anymore.

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><p>"Good morning, girls!" Doug said as he came downstairs, just after taking a shower with Carol. He kissed both of his daughters who were already sitting in their high chairs, eating breakfast. "Morning daddy!" both answered with a smile. "Good morning, Dr. Ross!" Sandra said, handing him a cup of coffee. "Sandy…It's Doug! And thank you!" he answered with a smile, taking a nip. Sandra blushed again. "Yeah, sorry…I'm not used to this, you know. Last year I was at a family's in L.A and I wasn't allowed to call them by the first name…" "But here you are! When did you guys get up? It's our free day; you're supposed to sleep in", Doug said, getting a very fresh croissant. "Well, Ms. cranky head Kate here woke up Tess very early and you know that they won't sleep anymore once they're awake. So I got them ready and we went to the bakery to get fresh bread for breakfast", Sandra answered, stroking over Kate's head. "Oh, you little rascals! Kate definitely doesn't come after Carol", Doug chuckled. "Noooo, she doesn't! Good morning all!" Carol said, cuddling Kate and then Tess, kissing both and then taking a seat beside Doug. "Morning", she whispered to Doug with a smile and then kissed him too. "You want coffee?" Sandra asked. "Yeah, thanks! So, what's the plan for the day?" Carol asked, very happy that all of her loved ones were sitting around this table. "We going shoppiiiiiing!" Tess and Kate screamed happily and very excited. "But have you been good girls this morning?" Doug asked very seriously. "Yes daddy!" Tess smiled as she bounced on her seat. "And the fridge is empty!" Sandra smiled too.<p>

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><p>As Doug and Carol passed the diapers, Carol looked at him. "So, did you think about it, Doug?" she asked and Doug looked at her. "A lot, to be honest…" he answered. "And?" "I thought about it…and I think he'd be in the best place in our family, we have everything he needs…so, we should try it! I bet Tess and Kate would be really happy about it, too", Doug said with a smile. Carol looked at him surprised. "Are you serious?" she asked and Doug nodded. "OMG!" She almost jumped on him, kissed and hugged him. "I love you, Doug!" she smiled but then listened as she heard Kate squealing.<p>

Carol and Doug went around the Corner and there they found Sandra, Tess, Kate and a woman with a little dog on a cord. "Hi, Carrie!" Carol smiled. "Hey guys!" Carrie, a neighbor to the Ross-Hathaway family answered. "Let me guess…you can't get them away from the dog!" Doug asked, pointing to Tess and Kate while Sandra nodded with a smile. "I told you not to come with us! It's your free day", Doug chuckled and Sandra nodded again. "Yeah, but I like spending time with them, you know", Sandra answered and Carol smiled. "But I'm in a hurry, I have to get SJ from the airport, he's coming back from his Australia adventure today", Carrie said smiling. "Oh, tell him hello from us! And we want to see pictures!" Carol said and Carrie nodded. Kate wasn't very happy when she had to leave the dog but when they passed the sweets, it was forgotten immediately.

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><p>After they came back home, Carol started to get dinner ready. Kate was already sleeping on the couch and Sandra watched cartoons with Tess. "Care?" Doug asked as he came into the kitchen. Carol looked at him. "What if it doesn't work?" he asked, leaning on the fridge. Carol sighed. "I don't know. We can only try it, you know. And I really want to try…what happened to Travis wasn't fair and he deserves some luck in his life, don't you think?" Carol answered, cutting the tomatoes for the salad again. Doug nodded. "Of course he does…but, you know, I just don't want you to emphasize it too much…I bet we wouldn't be the only family who wants to have him…" "I'm aware of that. I also know that it will be a long way…but we can do it. This time it will be different. We are married, we have enough money – you know that this is a very important fact to them – and we have a big house. When I wanted to adopt Tatiana, I only had Tag's money, a small apartment and a failed suicide attempt in my files. I think this time it's a bigger chance", Carol answered and Doug knew that she already was involved too much in this. "You're right", Doug just answered, "need some help?" Carol stopped cutting and laid the knife down. "Doug, why do you tell me you're sure about this when you're actually not? Don't do this just because of me…you would be his daddy, remember that", Carol said, standing now in front of him. "I don't know…I'm…I love Tess and Kate. They're mine, I'm their father. I'm afraid that I'll always love them more than a baby, that isn't mine, do you understand that?" Doug asked and Carol nodded. "Of course I understand that and nobody is forcing you not to love the twins. That's okay. Tess and Kate will always be my daughters, I gave birth to them, but I just want to give Travis a nice home, a family that gives him love and I know that we can give all this to him!" Doug then smiled at her and laid his hands on her waist. "You're too good to this world, do you know that?" he asked and kissed her. Carol smiled. "Of course I know that!"<p>

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><p>Later this evening, when Carol was bathing the twins, Doug phoned Cindy. "Hey Cindy, are you on tonight?" "Hi Doug, just about to go home, do you need anything?" she asked. "Yeah. Can you do me a favor and phone Mrs. Garret? I want to meet her tomorrow regarding Travis", Doug told her. "Sure, no problem…do you want to meet her in your lunch break, or when?" "That's okay. Thanks, Cind!" "No problem. See you tomorrow!" Doug hung up and smiled. "Well, we'll see…" he said and went to the bathroom to help Carol, but didn't tell her about the phone call. Tomorrow, he would tell her to have lunch with him…<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Hey Trav…how are you today?" Doug asked when he entered the ICU where the little boy was still attached to the breathing machine. Doug looked on his chart to see what happened the day before. "No complications yesterday, good to hear", Doug smiled and looked at Travis again. He stayed there for some seconds before his thoughts came back. Doug checked his medicaments and his breathing again. "Okay, that's not bad. Only some changes here…and done! Get well soon little one!" "…so we can take you home soon…" he finished in his thoughts. Yes, he was ready for Travis. He was so ready.

After he came back to his office, he wrote Carol a PM. _"Meet me for lunch. My office."_ Some seconds later she wrote back. _"Your office? Why, what do you have in mind again, Dr. Ross?"_ _"Just some talking. Are you coming?" "Of course I come. Love you." "Love you, too."_

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><p>Some minutes after 12 Doug looked at his clock when suddenly the door went open. "Hey!" Carol said but stopped, when she saw Mrs. Garrett sitting at Doug's desk. "Sorry, hello, Mrs. Garrett", she now said and then looked at Doug with questioning eyes. "Take a seat", he said to her and Carol did so. "So, what can I do for you both?" Mrs. Garrett asked and Doug took a breath. "I think you already heard about Travis, right?" he asked and Mrs. Garrett nodded. Carol just looked at Doug without saying anything because she was just shocked. "Okay. Travis is to be drawn back to the children's home after he's released from here, right?" Doug asked again. "That's true, until we find a family for him", Mrs. Garrett answered. "You already found a family", Doug now said with a smile but Mrs. Garrett didn't really understand what he meant. "We want to have him", Carol now said almost pleading. "Okay, slow down for now", Mrs. Garrett laughed, "it's not that easy!" "We know", Carol said. "We have a list. There are a lot of families in front of you, who are looking for a kid. I mean, I can write you on that list, but I can't promise that you'll get the baby…it depends on some criteria…" Mrs. Garrett said. "Mrs. Garrett, I know how it works. I wanted to adopt a little girl some years ago, so I'm familiar with the procedure. I lost her…and…I don't wanna lose another kid. Not Travis. He could have a great life at our place", Carol now explained. Doug knew that nobody would win this conversation. Mrs. Garrett just nodded. "I can't tell you anything explicit now…but I'll note that you want to have Travis. That's all I can do for now…" she said after a while. "Yeah, put us on that list", Carol said kinda disappointed and Doug shook his head slightly. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to invite Carol for this. "I'm sorry I can't do anything more right now, Mrs. Hathaway…" "I know. But you keep in touch with us, right?" Carol asked and Mrs. Garrett nodded confidently.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me she was coming?" Carol asked when Mrs. Garrett left the office. "Sorry, was it so bad that she was here? I thought we should inform her as soon as possible", Doug answered. Carol nodded. "Didn't go so well", she murmured. "I told you not to take it too serious!" Doug answered and Carol gave him a look. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just…I'm reliving the adoption thing", Carol tried to explain. "I know, but this time I'm with you", Doug answered hugging her. "I love you", Carol whispered, placing a kiss on his lips. "I love you, too", Doug answered, smiling at her.

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><p>She already fell in love with little Travis and was more than happy, when he could be detached from the breathing machine. It was the first time when Carol saw his deep, brown eyes. Travis started to cry and he turned his tiny head to look at her, as if he were saying: Pick me up, cuddle me and love me. And so Carol did. She picked him up from the bed, really carefully because of his injuries and it felt so good to have him in her arms. "Hey Travis…hello, little one", Carol whispered and Travis stopped the crying and listened to her voice. "Hey…you stopped crying just for me?" Carol asked with a smile and then looked to Doug who was standing beside her, smiling too. "Say goodbye to ICU, Trav! It's done…you're now coming to the pediatrics station!" Carol said and touched little Travis' nose. "Oh, he likes you, doesn't he?" Sherry, a nurse from the ICU said when she came to the bed. "Mhm…" Carol just answered, without taking her eyes from Travis. "I have to take him now…we're moving", Sherry said and Carol nodded. "Bye Trav! See you soon! See you soon!" Without thinking about it she kissed Travis cheek like it would be the most normal thing in the world. She was standing there with Doug watching as they moved the bed out. "Don't worry, Care", he sighed, "everything will be alright", Doug said, touching her back, comforting her. Carol just nodded. If only he was right…<p>

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><p>Later that evening Doug picked up Carol from the surgery to go home. "You ready?" he asked tiredly. "Almost, just have to finish this paper", Carol answered looking up to him, "you look like hell!" Doug smiled. "Long day…" he answered and took a seat beside her. "Yeah…I know! Can't wait to take a bath later on", Carol said, signing that paper and putting it away, "okay, ready! Let's go!" She got up from her seat taking Doug's hand. "Wanna say goodbye to Trav first?" Doug asked and Carol smiled. "Of course!"<p>

When they arrived at Travis' room, they could see Mrs. Garrett in it, as well as a woman and apparently her husband. So this was how's it was going to be all the time? Coming to Travis' room and finding other interested families in there? Carol's smile faded away. "Shall we go?" Doug asked but Carol shook her head. "No, I wanna meet those guys", Carol answered and went straight into the room. Doug sighed and followed her.

"Hi, I'm Carol", she said when she entered the room, shaking hands with the man and woman. "I'm Sue and this is my husband Peter", the woman answered. Doug said hello too. "Mr. and Mrs. Jackson want to adopt a baby because she can't have kids on her own", Mrs. Garrett said and Carol's heart almost stopped to beat. She already had two daughters but this woman couldn't even have kids on her own. Somehow she felt sorry for Sue but when she looked back at Travis, she couldn't just say, ok, you can have him because I already have two daughters. She just couldn't. "So, you're interested in Travis here?" Doug then asked. "We don't know yet…it's really hard, y'know…" Peter answered and Carol rolled her eyes in her thoughts. Hard? When his wife couldn't have own kids how could it be hard then to find a baby in a children's home? What were they looking for? There were so many kids looking for a home, didn't they think about that? "Wanna hold Travis?" Mrs. Garrett now asked Sue and Sue nodded but she seemed kinda scared. Carol hesitated. It was kinda hard, seeing another possible foster-mother holding her Travis. And somehow Travis didn't like it either. As soon as he was in the arms of Sue he started to cry. Carol and Doug followed what happened now. "Hey Travis", Sue said, touching his cheek, comforting him, but he didn't stop to cry. "I guess he's not used to this", Mrs. Garrett said and Carol shook her head. "He is. May I?" Carol asked Sue and Sue handed her the baby. "Shh Travis…everything's okay", Carol whispered and some seconds later, Travis was silent. Doug smiled. Travis was already used to Carol and her voice and her touch, it amazed him. Sue and Peter looked at each other, not really happy about this...


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: My one and only Kathi, thank you soooo much for reading! 333_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"I don't know what to say", Carol said as they were driving home. "I mean, I didn't do anything!" Doug knew what she meant and he smiled. "Travis likes you. He might be a baby but he already knows you", he answered. "But Sue was sweet with him, too." "I know, but Travis didn't like her!" Doug laughed and so did Carol. "You're mean!" she said but Doug just shrugged.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" Kate almost screamed as she ran to the door to welcome her parents. "Hey Katie! What's up?" Carol asked, picking up her daughter and kissing her. "Sandy is pwaying wif us…Tessie and me are the police and she is the bad guy!" Kate told her excited. Carol and Doug laughed. "Then go back and get the bad guy!" Carol said and kissed her daughter again. She put her back down again and Kate ran away. "We should tell them about Travis", Doug now said. Carol nodded. "Good idea, but first let's get ready for dinner! I'm starving", she answered with a smile. "What do you wanna cook?" Doug asked, hugging her. "I don't know…what about barbecuing? I can make a salad and some sauces; you do the steaks, fries for the kids…" she suggested. "Good idea! I'll get the grill ready, then", Doug answered and kissed her.

"Kids, Sandra, we have to talk with you", Doug said, when everybody finished their steaks and Tess and Kate didn't want to eat any more fries. Sandra looked up to them, but Tess and Kate weren't really interested. "Okay. There's this baby in the hospital, Travis. He lost his parents and has no relatives, so Doug and I thought, we could adopt him", Carol said with a smile. "It isn't sure yet, if we get him, but we're in line already", Doug finished. "But…you work full time and…I don't want to sound rude, but I don't think that I can manage the twins and a little baby", Sandra said but felt awkward. Carol smiled at her. "Don't worry about that. I'll stop working until he's old enough to go to kindergarten. And Doug will change his shifts like he did with Tess and Kate. When they were little, he has worked a lot from at home", Carol answered her and Sandra smiled too. "Well then, I can't wait to see him! Are you happy, girls?" Sandra said and the twins looked up to her. "Why?" Tess asked and looked at her with her big eyes. "Maybe you'll get a little brother!" Sandra answered. "A baby?" Kate asked and Carol nodded. "Hooray!" the girls answered and everybody smiled.

"So, how's Travis?" Sandra asked while helping Carol with the dishes. "Oh, he's so cute, really. He's black, little curls on his head and his eyes are really dark brown, almost black. He's three weeks old and he was in a car accident, but already getting better", Carol told her with shining eyes. "Sounds cute", Sandra said, "so, why do you want to adopt him?" "Well, that's a long story. When I gave birth to Kate I had some complications. I had to get an emergency c-section and then almost had a hysterectomy. So, my friend Mark prevented them from conducting one and now it wouldn't be a problem to have more kids…" Carol told her. "So, why don't you try for another kid yourself?" Sandra asked again. Carol smiled. "We did. Doug and I decided to have another baby some weeks ago…but…I didn't get pregnant until now. And then Travis came to the hospital. He lost his mum and had nobody else. I think it would be great to give him a nice home and a lot of love here. That's why we want to adopt him. I know it will take long and I don't know if we get him, but it's worth a try!" Carol said. "You're really an angel, really. You and Doug, you're such nice guys! You deserve to have Travis", Sandra answered smiling. "Oh how cute are you! Thank you Sandy!" Carol said and hugged her. Carol was more than happy to have Sandra here. She was such a nice girl, helping so much without even asking and she was great with the girls. "Maybe you can visit him tomorrow, you and the girls", Carol now said. "That would be great, maybe right after kindergarten…I bet Tess and Kate would love to see him", Sandra answered and Carol nodded.

It amazed her more than anything, when she saw Doug with little Travis. Carol remembered him with Tess and Kate, when they were little, how he always comforted them, like he did now with Travis. It was a beautiful sight. She smiled, before she entered the room. "Hey you two", she said with a smile and Travis opened his eyes. "You woke him up!" Doug said complaining. "I did not! Sandra's coming with Tess and Kate to visit him", Carol answered, stroking over the babies head. "Are we doing the right thing, Doug?" she then asked. "Just look at Travis and tell me", he answered and Carol looked at the baby again. He had his eyes closed again, but a smile on his face, like he wanted to show how good he felt with Doug and Carol. "Oh man…" Carol sighed and Doug just chuckled. Suddenly Carol's cell phone rang. "Hey Sandy!" she answered it. "Hey, we're here!" "I'll come and bring you up then! See you!" Carol answered and hung up. "Be right back", she said to Doug and kissed him shortly.

Travis was now sleeping in the bed while Sandra, Tess and Kate stood around the bed to watch him. "He's so cute", Sandra said, bending down to the twins. "He will be our bwother then?" Kate asked silently. "Maybe", Sandra whispered back with a smile. "Why maybe?" now Tess asked and Sandra looked to Doug and Carol for help. "Well, he doesn't have a mum and dad and there are some mums and dads who would like to have him, do you understand that?" Carol asked, bending down to the twins too. She got a frustrated look from the girls. "We can take him home wif us so the others don't find him", Tess said really, really silently. Carol and Doug laughed. "No hun, we can't…I'm sorry. We just have to wait a little bit longer", Carol answered. "Daddy, will you make him better?" Kate asked and Doug nodded. "I will!" he smiled. "Gweat, we can paint him a picture", Kate answered and Doug nodded. "I bet he'd love that!" he answered with a smile. "Good luck for all of you!" Sandra said, looking at all members of the Ross-Hathaway family.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Two days later, Carol got a phone call from Mrs. Garrett. Somehow she panicked, but picked up nevertheless.

"Hello?"  
>"Carol? Is that you?"<p>

"Yeah, hello Mrs. Garrett!"

"Hello! I've got a question. There are now four families, you including, who are interested in Travis."

"Four?"

"Yes. So, I heard he's getting better every day. That's way we wanted to check on all the families. Are you available on Tuesday afternoon?"

Carol looked at her organizer. "I don't have to work, but Doug has a shift!"

"That's no problem. I'll come around 2pm then, okay?"

"That's fine. Bye Mrs. Garrett!"

"Bye!"

Carol hung up and took a deep breath. She only had one day to prepare for Mrs. Garrett's visit and on Tuesday Sandra was in school. Well great. "Who was that?" Doug called from the living room and Carol almost jumped. "Mrs. Garrett will visit me on Tuesday", she told him. "On Tuesday? I have to work on Tuesday", Doug answered. "I know. She said it's okay." "I can change my shift, if you want", Doug said but Carol shook her head. "No need. I'll manage it", she said and Doug smiled at her. "Will you?" he asked. Carol just rolled her eyes. Only seconds later Tess and Kate came downstairs from their afternoon nap. "Good morning ladies!" Doug called but didn't get an answer from the girls. They still were tired, so Tess crawled on Doug's lap and Kate crawled on Carol's lap. Doug and Carol looked at each other and smiled. "Well then let's just cuddle a little bit longer…" Carol said and the twins closed their eyes again.

It was Tuesday. The day before, after she came home from work, Carol cleaned the free room upstairs where Travis' bedroom should be. Sandra helped to clean the twins' room. The living room was tidied up, as was the kitchen. Tess and Kate were currently playing in the living room and Carol was sitting nervous on the couch, her feet whipping on the couch table. The twins were cranky all day long and didn't want to take their afternoon naps. "Please kids, be good girls, when Mrs. Garrett visits us, okay?" Tess looked at her. "Yes." "Who is Mrs. Gawett?" Kate asked. "Garrett, her name is Mrs. Garrett honey! She's the boss from the children's home", Carol answered and then the doorbell rang. Tess and Kate looked up to their mum. "Let the games begin", she said and went to open the door.

"Good afternoon", Mrs. Garrett said. "Good Afternoon! Please come in", Carol answered and let her in. "Your home is beautiful!" Mrs. Garrett said. "Thanks! Do you want to have coffee or tea or something else?" Carol asked. "Coffee would be great, thanks!" So they went into the kitchen. "Please take a seat", Carol said while she turned on the coffee machine. "I was wondering…you're working full time, right?" Mrs. Garrett asked. "Yes", Carol answered shortly. Suddenly a crying Kate came into the kitchen. "Tess won't give me my space cowboy!" Carol looked to Mrs. Garrett. "Excuse me for a moment, please!" So she picked up Kate and went to the living room. She didn't notice that Mrs. Garrett followed her. "Tess, please stop fighting with your sister and give her back the space cowboy. You can play with the space cowgirl instead!" Carol let Kate down again, but Kate didn't go away from her. "The cowgirl is stupid", Tess answered and crossed her arms. "Then play with something else!" Carol said and turned around. "I didn't know you already have kids!" Mrs. Garrett said. Carol smiled a little bit. "Twin girls. This is Kate, and this is Tess." Tess waved at her but Kate started to cry even more. "What's up, honey?" Carol couldn't believe that this was happening now. Kate put her hand up to Carol. Carol picked her up again. "It's alright hun. I think we'll take a nap now, don't we?" Carol said and Kate nodded. "Be right back", Carol whispered to Mrs. Garrett and went upstairs with Kate.

"Tess? Do you fight a lot with your sister?" Mrs. Garrett now asked the girl who was still sitting on the floor. "Nope", Tess answered. "Okay…and do you two share a room?" "Yep." "Are you in kindergarten already?" "Yep." Very amusing, Mrs. Garrett thought, but not like three year olds. "Do you like it?" "Yep." Tess wasn't very interested in talking right now. Right then, Carol came back down. "I'm so sorry…they're cranky since the morning!" Mrs. Garrett smiled. "No problem. So, how will you manage it?" she asked. "Manage what?" Carol asked. "A full time job, twins and a little baby?" "Oh", Carol said, "I'll stop working until he's old enough for kindergarten. And I have an au-pair, Sandra. She's in school on Tuesdays." Mrs. Garrett nodded and took notes on her paper. "Okay. How old are the twins?" "They're three. Do you want me to show you around?" Carol asked and Mrs. Garrett nodded.

After she finished her coffee, they started with the first floor. Carol showed her the bathroom, the spare room, the playing room for the kids. Then they went upstairs. Carol opened the door to the twin's room silently. Somehow she was really proud of this room, because it was Doug who decorated it, while she still was in Chicago. Some furniture changed in the meantime, but still it was Doug's work. The room had a big window on one side and Carol remembered loving sitting in the rocking chair early in the morning, waiting for the sun to come in. Carol smiled and closed the door again. "So, this would be Travis' room", she now said when she opened the next door. It was exactly the same room as the twins' room, same size, same window. Carol already imagined how to decorate it. "We still have everything left from the twins. Right now it's only a spare room, but it should be a bedroom someday." "So you plan to have more kids?" Mrs. Garrett asked and Carol nodded. "We planned, yes, but I don't know if I can have more kids. I almost had a hysterectomy when I Kate was born. It was pretty close, y'know", Carol told her and they went on to the upper bathroom, which was bigger than the one downstairs. Then Carol showed her the last room which could be a room for one of the twins once, now it was Sandra's room. "You have a beautiful house", Mrs. Garrett said. "Wait until you see the garden!" Carol smiled.

So they went downstairs again. Carol grabbed Tess and they went outside through the living room door, which lead directly to the lake. "Beautiful", Mrs. Garrett said when she looked around. Everything was perfect here. There was a fence so the twins couldn't go into the water on their own. Trees spent shadows on hot days. Out on the doc were two chilling chairs, where Doug and Carol sometimes fed the ducks. There was a place with a garden table and chairs, where they often had breakfast in summer, or having barbecues. They sat down on the chairs and Mrs. Garrett looked at her notes again. "So, you once planned to adopt a little girl, right? Why didn't it work back then?" Carol sighed. "It was nine years ago. Tatiana was from Russia, had AIDS and she didn't know the English language. I knew a little bit in Russian, so she trusted me. I wanted to give her a steady family. I was engaged at that time…not with Doug, but with another doctor. Everything was great, but then they found out that I tried to kill myself." Carol paused and looked to Mrs. Garrett. "It was some months earlier. I didn't get along with my life anymore. I was pushed into a relationship I didn't want and in this relationship I felt like in prison. I had no air to breath. It was like being checked on everything you do. You might think why I didn't end it, but I couldn't. It was the first thing I did that made my mother happy. All she ever wanted me to was to have enough money, to have a good husband. She wasn't interested in my feelings, she never was. And I didn't find a way out. It was like I had to carry everything on my shoulders. My family, my work, my fiancé, Doug. I was depressed. The only thing I could do was end everything. So I took a bunch of pills together with alcohol. I wasn't even scared. But my roommate at that time found me and brought me to the hospital where I worked. They saved my life."

It was still hard for her to go through this story. She didn't think about it very often and the last she told someone about it was her psychologist. "What had Doug to do with this?" Mrs. Garrett now asked. "We had been together two years before this happened. The relationship ended because he wasn't ready to make a commitment." She didn't mention the cheating, the late night visits from a drunken Doug or he going home in the middle of the night. "I've always been in love with him. We got together about it three years later again, we moved in together and three years ago we moved to Seattle. And as you can see, everything is okay. We got married, we have two beautiful daughters and we're happy. We love this house, we love each other and we'd love to give Travis a lot of this love!" Carol stopped now because that was all she could tell and she told the truth. "Wow, that's quite a story", Mrs. Garrett said smiling. "Yeah, we could write a book", Carol laughed. "But I can see that you're a really happy, steady family! That's good", Mrs. Garrett said. Carol took a deep breath. "Can you be a little bit more specific?" she asked. Mrs. Garrett smiled. "Okay, but only because you're all really, really sympathetic. As I told you, there are four families, including you, who want to have Travis. Two families are out, IMO. You and the other family are still in. I'll visit them tomorrow. I can't say more yet", Mrs. Garrett told her. Carol's heart started to beat faster. "And, who is this other family? They're not Sue and Peter, right?" Carol asked. "No. The other family is living downtown, married and have one son. He's working in a bank, she's a lawyer", Mrs. Garrett said and Carol nodded. "Don't give up your hopes. I have seen you with Travis and I liked what I saw." "Thank you, Mrs. Garrett", Carol answered, holding Tess tight. "Call me Julia and you're welcome! I think I have seen enough now…" she got up from her seat, as did Carol and Tess. "What now?" Carol asked. "Well, I'll call you in some days. It still takes some time…" Julia answered. Carol nodded. "Okay then, thanks", she answered, accompanied her to her car. "Talk soon! Bye Tess!" Julia waved to the girl and Tess waved back, sleepy already. Carol stayed there until Julia was out of sight. "C'mon sweetie, let's take a nap!" she whispered to her daughter who didn't complain.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

When Doug arrived at home, it was silent in the house. He locked the door again and looked around. A smile hushed on his face when he found Carol sleeping on the couch. He didn't want to wake her, so he just went upstairs to check on the twins. Both were sleeping silent in their beds. Then he saw that there was light in Sandra's room, so he knocked on her door. Sandra opened it. "Hey! Why are they all sleeping?" Doug asked. Sandra shrugged her shoulders. "I don't now. I came home from school half an hour ago and they were sleeping!" Doug nodded. "Oh wow, it's not even 7…well, I'm gonna get me something to eat, are you hungry?" he asked. Sandra shook her head. "No thanks, I was at McDonald's with SJ!" Doug smiled. "With SJ? Really?" he asked. Sandra rolled her eyes. "Yes, with SJ. He's really nice." "Yeah, he is", Doug answered with his characteristically chuckling, "well then..." Sandra smiled. "I have to finish my homework now!" she said and closed the door again. Doug shook his head smiling.

He found some hot dogs in the fridge, so he decided to get them ready. Carol came from the living room to hug him from behind. Doug smiled and turned around. "Hey sleepyhead", he chuckled and kissed her. "Hey", she answered shortly and laid her head on his chest. "So, how was your day?" he asked. Carol looked up again. "Exhausting…but okay, I guess! How was your day?" she asked. "Exhausting too…but Travis says hello!" Doug answered and kissed her forehead again. Carol closed her eyes and smiled. "There's another family who comes in mind, Julia said. They're married and have a son already", Carol told him and he nodded. "We just have to think positive, I guess", he answered and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess so! Do you need help here?" Carol asked but he shook his head. "Nope…I'm almost done! So, Tess and Kate are sleeping already, Sandra is in her room thinking about SJ…what are we doing tonight?" he asked with a smile. "Shower, bed!" Carol answered and kissed him again. "Sounds good…" he smiled.

The next day arrived and Carol couldn't get out of bed. She felt dizzy as soon as she got up. "Ugh…I feel like hit by a truck!" she murmured and lay back again. "That doesn't sound good…no wonder you've been so tired yesterday…" Doug answered, handing her the thermometer. "I don't wanna get sick…" Carol cried, putting the thermometer into her mouth and they waited for the beep. "You are already sick!" Doug said when he saw the temperature. Carol rolled her eyes. "Noooo…get me some antibiotics and I'm okay again", she said, closing her eyes. Doug shook his head. "No way. You're gonna stay at home today and sleep it off!" Carol didn't even complain anymore. She really felt awful. "I'll tell Martin that you're sick. Just stay in bed okay?" Doug said, stroking over her sweating forehead. "What about the twins?" Carol asked. "Don't worry. I'll come home early! I have to finish some paperwork, I can do that at home, when the twins are sleeping", he answered and Carol nodded. "Okay then. Tell Travis hi…I already miss him!" she answered and closed her eyes again. "Alright. See you later. And don't leave the bed!" Doug ordered and Carol nodded.

She woke up again as she heard a knock on her door. Sandra gazed in and Carol tried to sit up a little bit. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" she asked with a silent voice. Carol smiled the best she could. "No, thanks. I'm so sorry to ruin your morning…" Carol answered. "Don't worry about that. I got Tess and Kate ready and we're leaving for kindergarten now. Should I get you something from the store?" Sandra asked again. "No, I'll be okay. I just need some more sleep. Thank you, Sandra", Carol said with a sleepy voice. "No problem. Get better soon!" Sandra answered and left the room again.

"Hey Julia!" Doug called and he ran up to her, as she left Travis' room. She hesitated. "Doug…hello!" "What are you doing here?" Doug asked. "Checking on Travis. Do you already know when he can be released?" she asked but Doug shook his head. "No idea. His left foot still needs recovering. Why?" Doug asked back. Julia sighed. "Last stage, Doug. Tomorrow we're deciding who'll get him", she answered and Doug nodded. "Do we have to do anything?" Doug asked but Julia shook hear head. "No. I'll notify you as soon as possible!" she answered and left again. Doug took a deep breath. Somehow he didn't have a good feeling about this…

Only some hours later Doug arrived at the kindergarten. He took a seat at the waiting area and looked around. He knew that Carol would freak out when they wouldn't get Travis, dear God, even he would freak out. He and Travis already had a bond and Doug knew that Travis felt this already. Doug and Carol had been there every day. Carol even changed his diapers as often as she got time for it. It would be so wrong if they wouldn't get Travis. "DADDDDDYYYY!" two little girls interrupted his thoughts. Doug smiled at his daughters. "Hey munchkins! Oooh, you're too heavy for me already!" he said as he picked both up. Tess and Kate just giggled. "How was kindergarten today?" he then asked as they left the building. "Funny, we were outside at the playground!" Tess told him. "Yeah, but I fell and then my knee was bleeding", Kate finished. "Ouch, did it hurt a lot?" Doug asked while he sat Kate into her car seat. "No, but Kawen* laughed me down!" she answered like a frustrated little girl. "So, what did you do then?" Doug asked, putting Tess into her car seat. "I pushed her and she fell to the floor", Kate giggled. "Oh no Katie, you shouldn't do that…the next time I want you just to ask her what's so funny, okay?" Doug answered and Kate nodded. "But it is not nice to laugh when I fall down!" Kate complained. "Yeah, but pushing isn't nice either!" he answered while starting the engine and couldn't help but smile. Surely his daughters already knew how defend themselves.

When they arrived at home, Carol was still sleeping in her bed. She had been up a little bit to get her something to drink when Sandra wasn't around but she always felt dizzy, so she got back to bed. Doug checked on her temperature earlier but the fever was gone already. "How ya feelin?" he asked while taking a seat on her side of the bed. "Awful…and tired", she answered, giving him a weak smile. "Then try to sleep again. If you need something, just tell me, okay?" Doug said and Carol nodded. "Did you check on Travis?" she then asked and Doug sighed. "Yeah…Julia was there too. Tomorrow they'll announce who'll get to adopt him…" he answered and Carol tried to sit up a little bit. "Oh great…why do I need to get sick now?" she asked, shaking her head. "Bad timing, I'd say!" Doug chuckled. "Yeah, very funny! Now let me sleep. Give Tess and Kate a kiss for me", Carol said and closed her eyes again. Doug just smiled and stroke over her hair before he left the room again.

Later that evening Doug made chicken nuggets and fries for the kids and after eating, they played in the living room. Tess and Kate laughed so much because Doug was really silly with them. "And now…get ready for the take off!" he said, picking both up and twirling them around like in a plane. He didn't notice Carol who watched them from the living room door. When she saw Doug with the twins she felt so much love for the three of them. Tess and Kate had so much fun and their laugh was like medicine for Carol. "You're a good daddy, do you know that?" she then said and Doug turned around. "I'm trying my best…" he laughed. "No, really, you are. We love our daddy, don't we?" she now asked, going to them and hugging them. "Yes daddy, we love you", Tess said, laying her head on her father's shoulder. "And I love you!" Doug answered, kissing Tess first, then Kate and then Carol. "You feelin better?" Doug asked and Carol nodded. "Yeah, thank God. And now let's get them to bed!" she answered and the twins immediately complained. "Nooooo…can we pway a little bit longer?" Kate whined. "No honey…it's late and the plane needs some sleep too!" Doug answered kissing her again.

Later in bed, Carol turned around to face Doug. He was awake too, but they didn't say a word. All they knew was that it would be a restless night.

*Karen


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning was bustling. Carol felt sick again, but didn't tell Doug about it. She just wanted to be in the hospital to see Travis and to get some distraction but first they needed to get the kids ready for kindergarten. Somehow they seemed to feel the tense situation because they were really cranky. "I don't wanna go!" Tess complained. "I wanna stay with mommy!" Kate added. "But what about your friends? They'll miss you!" Sandra said but it didn't help. First Kate started to cry and then Tess joined her. "Babies, calm down, please. I'll pick you up in some hours already, so no need to cry!" Carol said and took a deep breath. "Well…I could stay at home with them…" Sandra brought in but Carol shook her head. "No. They need to learn that they can't always get what they want!" she answered and Sandra nodded. "But", Tess started but Carol interrupted her. "No Tess. I don't want to discuss this! You're going to kindergarten and we're going to work!" Now Tess cried even louder. "Calm down, ladies!" Doug said as he joined them. "Tell it your kids!" Carol answered, putting on her coat. "You need to calm down, too", he said and Carol nodded. "I know. Okay, are we ready?" she said and turned around to her daughters again who already had red eyes from crying. "Oh, look at you…beautiful girls!" she now laughed but Tess and Kate didn't even smile. "Well, I gotta go now. See you later!" Sandra said and waved to them before she left the house.

"Carol! Did you finish the paper?" Dr. Martin Parker asked Carol when he found her at the desk. "Damn", she closed her eyes, "I must've forgotten it!" Martin wasn't happy about this. "The surgery will start when the paper is signed. We need the paper, STAT!" Carol nodded as Martin walked away again. "What's going on?" Melissa asked. "They'll announce it today…" Carol answered, now in a hurry to get this damn paper ready. "Announce what?" Melissa asked again. "About the adoption", Carol said, now looking at her. "Oh, Travis. So you're really serious about this…" Carol nodded. "We are. I mean, we were there from the beginning. We went through all the formalities and believe me, it's not easy!" Carol told her. Melissa nodded. "And I still don't feel good", Carol continued. "Why didn't you stay at home longer? I could've done your shift!" Melissa said but Carol shook your head. "You already helped out the last time and…you know, it could be the last time that I see Travis", Carol answered with a sigh. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry too much, it'll work. Now let me help you with this paper!" Melissa said smiling.

"Carol!" She almost jumped when she heard her name and turned around. "Oh, Martin, hi. Sorry for earlier…" she answered. "No problem. I'm sorry for yelling. I know that you don't feel good today…you should go home and rest some more!" Dr. Parker said but Carol shook her head. "No, really, it's okay. I feel a lot better today", Carol said although she knew she really didn't. "You sure? You look like you break down any minute!" Martin said concerned. Carol smiled a little. "It's okay. My shift will end in three hours, I'll survive it!" she laughed. Martin sighed. "Well then, maybe you can do some paperwork. I can't let you near the patients or their relatives. I think you're still running a fever…" he said. Yes, Carol was sweating but all she felt was sickness. Going near the patients really wouldn't look good. "Paperwork is fine for me!" she answered and went behind the desk again.

Two hours later Doug arrived at the surgery. "Hey, where's Carol?" he asked Melissa, who was sitting on the phone. She held a finger up to him, signalizing that she was still talking on the phone. "Wait a moment", she whispered and Doug nodded. When she hung up what felt like a decade later, Doug smiled at her. "What was that about?" he asked. Melissa sighed. "We're still looking for Stacy's sister. If she doesn't show up here in three hours, Stacy won't make it…" Melissa answered. "Oh, the kidney, right?" Doug asked again and Melissa nodded. "Oh and Carol is sleeping. She was working on some papers in the lounge and…is she really okay?" Melissa asked concerned. Doug just shrugged his shoulders. "She says yes but I think it's an infection. Nothing serious but you know how stubborn she is. I told her to stay at home but no chance!" Doug smiled and Melissa nodded. "Yes, that's our Carol!" she answered with a smile.

When he entered the lounge in the surgery he found her sleeping silently on the couch. A cold cup of coffee was standing beside the papers on the table. Doug took a seat on the couch and stroke over her cheek. Carol stirred but didn't wake up immediately. "Hey", he whispered, "wake up!" She then opened her eyes. "Wow, what's going on?" she asked with a hoarse voice. "You fell asleep! Don't you think it would be better when you stay at home a little bit longer? Only some days?" Doug asked and Carol sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know, we'll see tomorrow, okay? So, did you see Travis already?" she asked. "Yeah. He's good, he's really good. He already moved his leg!" Doug said. "Really? That's good!" Carol answered and Doug nodded. "Well…Julia will be coming around 4pm", he told Carol. She felt her heart beating faster. "Oh damn, I'm going home in an hour!" Carol answered looking at her watch. "No problem. I'll be here. I'll call you as soon as I know anything", Doug answered and Carol nodded. "Alright then", Carol said and sighed.

Around 4pm Julia showed up in Doug's office. He felt that she had no good news for him. "Is Carol still here?" she asked but Doug shook his head. "Her shift ended four hours ago!" he told her. "Okay. Well…regarding Travis…" she started but stopped as she looked at Doug. "We don't get him, right?" Doug asked, leaning back in his chair. Julia waited for some seconds, but then nodded. "The other family had better conditions…" Julia said. "You're kidding right? What better conditions?" Doug asked again, his voice getting louder. "You know, it wasn't my decision. I'm just a coordinator in this case. I'm sorry, Doug", she answered, looking to her feet. Doug just nodded, not believing that it really was over now.

When he phoned Carol, he was more than nervous but she was calm, like she didn't notice what was going on. This worried Doug. He expected another reaction from Carol. She worked so hard for this adoption, she fell in love with Travis and now she gave up so easily? He needed to go home to find out.

Doug arrived at home and it was really silent in the house again. The lights were out and there was no sign from the kids but when he entered the kitchen, he found a note from Sandra. "_We're at the playground, will be back around 7! Sandra, Tess and Kate!_" Doug wondered if they already knew about Travis or not. He sighed and went into the living room. Maybe Carol was sleeping on the couch but she wasn't there. When he looked out of the big window, he saw her sitting out there on the dock – her favorite place to relax. Doug opened the glass door that lead to the lake and took a deep breath. Carol didn't turn around so he went out to the dock too and took a seat beside her. Carol was sitting there with a blanket, not moving but looking out on the water. "That's the place where I saw you for the first time ater I came to Seattle", she said silently. "And that's the place where I asked you to be my wife", Doug answered with a little smile. "I knew it somehow, Doug. I could feel it", she now said and looked to him. He wiped away the single tear that rolled down her cheek. "I don't know why it is that way, but at hard as it is, we have to move on", Doug said and Carol closed her eyes. "I…I miss him already and I don't know what to do now…I can't handle this!" she said, now crying harder. "Oh Care…c'mere", Doug took her hand and she got up to hug him. "I miss him too. Travis, he was…he is a wonderful baby and…God, I know it's not fair. He should be with us now", Doug said but that didn't help Carol much. "I don't understand it", she whispered and Doug nodded. "Be strong for me, okay? We still have Tess and Kate…we need to be there for them", he answered, stroking over her curls. "I know…" she answered and looked up to him, "can we sit here a little bit longer?" "You better get back inside; it's freezing out here already!" Doug answered. "No...I just want to sit here with you, until the rain comes!" Carol said and Doug smiled a little. "I love you, Care", Doug whispered and kissed her, knowing that this wouldn't be over so soon…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Carol couldn't sleep at night because all her thoughts were with Travis. She saw him when she closed her eyes; she imagined his baby scent; she imagined picking him um when he cried. How could she ever forget this? This just wasn't right.

Some minutes later she got up from bed silently, not wanting to wake up Doug who was sleeping peaceful. When she turned around to look at him, she knew that he was all she needed. Doug was the love of her life and she wouldn't be able to live without him ever again. Once more Carol regretted that she didn't come with him to Seattle the first time, but she couldn't change it now. He missed the whole pregnancy and six months of the twins' life; he missed their first breath, the crying at night, the first time they started to crawl. With Travis, Doug could've experienced it. So, why are they punished by not getting pregnant and not getting Travis?

Carol turned away from Doug again and left the room. She wanted to be with the twins now. When she opened the door to their room the tears came back just because she couldn't handle her emotions anymore. "Kate…baby, I love you, so much!" she whispered, stroking over Kate's hair. Kate has always been their troublemaker. She started to walk before Tess did; she wasn't afraid of the water and jumping into the lake while Tess preferred to stay away from the water; Kate was loud and not scared of anything. Carol then went to Tess' bed. "I love you too, princess. What would I do without you two?" she whispered and stroke over Tess' hair too. Tess has always been the quiet one. She could play alone for hours; she didn't complain about wearing skirts while Kate preferred shorts; she was the cuddle-bear while Kate was the wild thing. No matter how different they were, she loved every feature they had. Carol took a seat on the rocking chair that was standing in one corner of the room and watched them sleeping. She could already imagine them as teenagers. Tess would be the shy one, never doing the first step when it would come to boys while Kate would have no problem to talk to one of them. Tess would learn a lot; go to college while Kate would have sort of a party life. Of course Carol wanted Kate to go to college too, but she would never force her daughters to do something they didn't want.

"Here you are!" Doug said when he finally found Carol in the twins' room. "Yep, I needed a little bit of mother-daughters time!" she said and wiped away the tears. Doug nodded and smiled at her. "Our little rugrats", he whispered and Carol smiled too. "Can you believe that they'll turn four in three months?" she asked, getting up from the chair again. Doug shook his head. "And soon they'll go to school, have boyfriends, get married and have kids on their own…" he said and took Carol's hand. "They would've been wonderful sisters to Travis", she said and a tear rolled down her cheek again. "I know…but Carol, we have to accept it as it is. He's at a good place now. He'll have a good life", Doug answered but Carol shook her head. She looked around in the room. "This would be a good place for him. This would be a good family for him!" she said and hugged Doug then, crying again. Doug sighed. He just stroke over her hair, comforting her, hoping that the pain would go away. "You need to get some sleep, Carol. The twins will need their mommy tomorrow!" Doug whispered. "But I…" Carol started but Doug interrupted her. "Shhh. Let's try it at least, okay?" Carol then nodded and they went to their bedroom again.

"Just hold me and never leave me", Carol whispered and so Doug did. He put his arm around her and cuddled to her, kissing her neck, smelling her scent, falling in love over and over again. Carol, happy to be with him, finally fell asleep.

"Hey, do you need anything from the cafeteria before I go home?" Carol asked Doug the next day when she looked into his office. "No thanks, but can you please cancel this double shift?" Doug asked, going up to her and hugging her. Carol smiled. "You are your own boss, Doug! Why did you take it?" she asked. "Well…James covered for me the last time and I don't want to be a bad boss, y'know…" he answered and Carol nodded. "Well then…see you tomorrow! Don't work too much!" she said and kissed him. "Will you be okay?" Doug asked then and Carol nodded. "Yeah", she answered. "Good. Kiss the girls for me!" Doug said. "I will!" Carol answered and kissed him again, before she left.

Doug was really worried about her. He noticed that she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday and that she was tired all the time. This whole adoption thing hurt him too but he knew that Carol really couldn't handle it. Doug wanted to help her, to make it forgotten, but he didn't know.

When Carol walked past the pediatric station, she tried not to think about Travis, but her feet stopped in front of the room where Travis had been. It was empty now, but she walked in nevertheless. She could still picture the little baby in this bed, sleeping peaceful, or bawling his eyes out. Thinking of him hurt so much. Carol didn't know why this baby was so special to her. She almost jumped when the door behind her got open. "Oh, hey Julia", she said as Mrs. Garrett walked in. "Carol…I'm so sorry", Julia said and Carol nodded. "Yeah well, that's the way it is, right? You can't always get what you want…" she said, thinking about how she told that line to her daughters the day before. "Just to let you know, it wasn't my fault. I voted for you…" Julia started but Carol interrupted her. "I don't want to know who voted for us and who didn't. It doesn't matter anymore. I just hope that Travis has a wonderful life now. That's what matters!" Julia then nodded, feeling really sorry for Carol. "Sorry again", she said and left the room without saying more. "Yeah…I'm sorry too", Carol murmured, before she left the room too.

Carol tried to be strong, for Doug and for her daughters, so she was all smiling when she picked up Tess and Kate from kindergarten. "Hey girls! Did you have a great day?" she asked. "Yesss!" Tess answered with a smile but Kate was all cranky again. "What about you?" Carol asked her younger daughter. "Yesss…but not stupid Kawen and Ashley!" Kate answered while opening the car door. "What, why?" Carol asked surprised. "I was pwaying with Mike and they destroyed our stweet we built!" Kate said and crossed her arms when she was finally sitting in her car seat. "That's not nice. Maybe I should talk to Linda then, huh?" Carol answered but Kate shook her head quickly. "No? Why not?" Carol asked again but Kate didn't answer. "She wasn't nice to Karen and Ashley!" Tess said then. "Shhhh", Kate complained but Carol just nodded. "Well, if you aren't nice, then the other kids won't be nice to you! And you know that Santa sees everything, right?" Carol said and Kate nodded without looking at her. "So, what do you want to eat today? What about McDonald's?" Carol asked and the kids were very happy about this. Carol herself wasn't hungry at all, but the kids couldn't wait to get a Happy Meal.

Finally at home again, Carol watched cartoons with the twins but somehow she couldn't follow what happened on the TV. She just imagined sitting here with the twins and Travis on her arm. She needed to stop thinking about Travis, like Doug said. "I'm getting myself something to drink, do you want anything?" she asked her daughters but they just shook their heads. So Carol went to the kitchen, got a glass of water and as she was standing there at the window, she could see Sandra kissing SJ goodbye. This made Carol smile. After SJ went home and Sandra appeared at the front door, Carol opened it from the inside. "Hey Sandy! So, SJ, huh?" Carol asked smiling. Sandra blushed a little bit. "Erm…yeah, kinda", she answered and they got back in the house. "Looks like it will be raining soon", Sandra tried to change the subject. "I think we'll need to talk this evening!" Carol said and Sandra nodded with a smile. "Only if you have beer!" she answered and smiled again. Finally some girl talk again, Carol thought. Finally another topic as babies…


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"So, tell me everything!" Carol said, making herself comfortable on the couch. Sandra smiled. "Well, where should I start…yeah. So, SJ came home from Australia and when Carrie saw me outside she invited me to come in to look at the pictures he made. That was when I met him for the first time!" Sandra stopped and took a nip from her beer. "Great, I still haven't seen the pics! But go on with your story!" Carol answered, leaning back. "Okay. Two days later he invited me to the theater. There he kissed me the first time. And then we had dinner and yeah, today we met again. Very interesting, right?" Sandra said and Carol laughed. "Well, of course it's interesting! You're falling in love with our neighbor boy; I think it's very exciting!" Carol answered but Sandra just shrugged. "Well, it's still very fresh…" she said and Carol nodded. "I know…but very sweet! I wish you good luck!" she answered smiling.

Later, Sandra helped bringing the kids to bed. "Sandwa can you wead us a stowy?" Kate asked when she was tucked in bed. "SandRa…not Sandwa! Try to say Sandra…and no sweetie, it's late already!" Carol said yawning. "Sandwa Sandwa Sandwa Sandwa!" Kate laughed and Carol rolled her eyes. "Good night then!" she smiled and Kate smiled too. "Alwight, good night then mum!" Carol just laughed and shook her head, kissing Kate's cheek. "Good night princess!" she said to Tess and kissed her cheek too. "Good night mommy!" Tess answered and closed her eyes. "They're so good today…what happened with them?" Carol wondered and Sandra shrugged her shoulders as they walked out of the twins' room. "No idea, but I like it! So…are you okay? I mean…" Sandra answered, knowing that she was sad because of Travis, but Carol cut her off. "I'm okay, don't worry", she just answered.

But nothing was okay. Carol couldn't sleep at night. She missed Doug around her. It felt so hot in the bedroom again. She wondered if Travis had a good night's sleep. It was the second night she got no sleep, but the more she tried the more awake she was. She reached for her cell phone and started to write Doug a message.

"_Hey hun! How are you? Lot of work?"_ she wrote and then waited. _"What are you still doing up? Go to bed!"_ came back some minutes later. Carol smiled. _"Yes dad. I'll try it. But I miss you."_

Doug didn't write back, but instead he called her. "Hey", she answered the phone with a smile. "Believe me, I miss you too! And not much to do right now…can't wait to go home though", Doug answered. "Can't you come home earlier?" Carol asked, not wanting to spend the night alone. "Sorry…I really can't. But I'll be home around 8, I promise!" Doug answered. "Okay then. I love you!" "I love you too! And now try to sleep!" Doug said and hung up. Carol smiled. After the telephone call she closed her eyes and she found a restless sleep.

The next morning Carol woke up because she heard some knocks at the front door. With a headache she got out of bed and went downstairs. "Hey, did you miss…" she started but stopped immediately as she saw who was standing in front of the door. "I'm sorry to show up without calling or anything…but…he doesn't stop crying…I'm Valerie, by the way", the woman in front of Carol said, but Carol could only look at the baby in the woman's arms. Travis. It felt like her heart stopped to beat, like she didn't know how to breathe anymore. Only some seconds later Carol came back to reality and she looked at Valerie again. "Why did you come here?" she said calmly. "I…I talked to Mrs. Garrett. I…she said…you're the only one who can calm him down. Please…he's crying since we got him…he didn't sleep very much…he cried all night!" Valerie moaned and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Please, come in!" Carol said, inviting the woman in. It already seemed that Travis got more silent. "Do you want a coffee or something?" Carol asked. "No…thank you…I had a bunch of cups last night…he just doesn't stop crying!" Valerie answered. "You can't come here every time he cries…" Carol answered, taking a seat beside the woman. "I know, but that's not what I'm here for!" Carol couldn't respond because the front door got open and Doug showed up in the living room. "Hey…what's going on here?" he asked slowly, stepping in front of the two women. "I'm Valerie…Travis doesn't stop crying. I don't know what to do", Valerie said, looking at the baby again. Carol got up. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked and Doug nodded. They went into the kitchen.

"I can't do this!" Carol said and started to cry. Doug hugged her. "Shhh…we don't even know what she wants!" he said and stroke over her hair. "I want her out of my house. I can't look at Travis. He's…god, why did she come here?" Carol whispered and Doug took a step back. "Listen; let's just hear what Valerie wants from us, okay?" Doug suggested and Carol nodded. "Okay then…" she whispered again and wiped away the tears.

"Okay Valerie. Can I take a look at Travis, see if everything is okay?" Doug asked as they came back to the living room. Valerie nodded and handed the baby to Doug. Travis cried even louder now. Carol's heart ached, seeing this and she was near tears again. "Hey Trav…don't you know me anymore? Why are you so mad?" Doug said calmly and Travis stopped the crying as soon as he heard Doug's voice. "Oh God…" Valerie murmured. Carol just had eyes for Doug and Travis. "Oh, you remember me, right? How's your food? Good? Show me how good it is!" Doug held Travis up and the little baby boy kicked his feet like a healthy baby. "Everything is okay with him!" Doug now said to Valerie and she looked up. "No. It's not. He's crying. Give him to me. He'll start to cry. I can't handle this!" Valerie got loud. "It's only been one day…" Doug answered but Val shook her head. "And one night. He needs to be with you", she now said calmly. "What", Carol asked, "what do you mean? It's not that easy!" Doug was really surprised by this answer. He expected that Carol would say okay immediately. "I know. Please call Mrs. Garrett to come. I…god, I can't take him home with me. I discussed this with my husband. I feel that this baby needs to be with you. Please. Help me", Valerie said. Doug and Carol looked at each other. "Just give us some minutes!" Carol said and her hopes rose again.

The twins woke up half an hour later. Carol got them dressed and then made breakfast. She herself wasn't hungry at all, but the twins wanted to have pancakes. Sandra helped Carol but was really puzzled. "What's going on?" she whispered. Carol sighed. "Valerie is here…she and her husband adopted Travis, but now she's saying she can't bear having him any longer!" Carol explained. "Why?" Sandra asked again. "Because it looks like Travis misses us…" Carol whispered back. Somehow it felt like all of this wasn't real at all. "Oh…wow", Sandra just said and Carol nodded. "Yeah…wow!" was all she replied. "Okay, I'm in a hurry; I need to be at school in 30 minutes! Erm…good luck then!" Sandra said to Carol and then waved to Tess and Kate. "Thanks Sandy", Carol murmured, standing at the kitchen counter and nipping her coffee that didn't taste very good to her.

Doug, no longer tired from his night shift, opened the door a little bit later to let Julia in. "What's going on?" Julia asked, putting off her coat. "Valerie is here…with Travis!" Doug whispered and led her to the living room. Now Carol and the twins were there too. Valerie was still crying but nobody said a word. Travis was sleeping on the couch, exhausted from all the crying. "Hi Valerie!" Julia said and they shook hands. "I can't have him any longer", Valerie said. "Why?" Julia asked. "He's crying all the time. When he's in his bed, he's crying. When I pick him up, he's crying. When Alex is singing him a song, he's crying. Then we came here and Dr. Ross held him and the crying stopped. Travis belongs here. I can't have him any longer", she explained. Julia just nodded. This was the first time in her career that something like that happened. She looked to Carol who was sitting there and staring into the air. "You need to sign some papers. Your husband needs to sign them too. Do you have a fax machine here?" Julia asked Doug and he nodded. "Well then let me phone my office and they shall fax the papers through. Are you okay, with all of this?" she asked again. "Of course", Doug answered because Carol didn't say a word.

"This is so crazy", Julia said as she was with Doug in his office. "Totally", Doug answered, "but it's the right way. You know that." Julia nodded. "I knew it from the beginning, but as I said, it wasn't my decision!" she answered and Doug nodded. "Carol isn't feeling very well, is she?" Julia now asked. "It's just a virus infection", Doug said and Julia nodded. "Oh, the papers are here!" she then said and sorted them. Doug couldn't believe it, but he really was nervous. He would have a baby soon.

"Good bye, Travis…good bye!" Valerie cried and kissed the baby on the cheek. Alexander, who came to the house earlier, didn't say anything but "bye". It seemed to Carol that he was happy to leave Travis here. And she herself could still not believe it. It seemed so unreal. So, Valerie and Alexander left the house and Julia now turned to Doug and Carol. "I'll send you the papers when they are ready, okay? Then you are his legal parents!" she said. "Thank you Julia. See you soon!" Carol now answered. Julia left the house and silence filled the hallway. "Carol?" Doug now said to her and she turned to him. "Wanna hold him now?" he asked, but she shook her head. "Not yet…first, I have to do this!" she answered and went to him. She took his head in her hands and kissed him passionately while tears of happiness ran down her cheeks. This was like it was meant to be.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"God, is this really true?" Carol asked, now sitting in the living room with Travis in her hands. "It is true!" Doug answered smiling. "Is he our bwother now?" Kate asked and Carol nodded. "He is, honey!" she answered, touching Kate's cheek. Kate's eyes lit up. "Tessie, we have a little bwother now!" Kate squealed and jumped around with her twin sister. Carol laughed with them. It felt good to be happy again. "Oh, you look like hell. Go to sleep, Doug!" she said to her husband. "Good idea…for some hours at least, because…we have to get Travis' room ready!" Doug answered with a smile. "Totally right. Well, we can start in the meantime. Or we can go for a walk with little Travis. Our fridge is empty again!" Carol suggested. "We don't have a stroller…" Doug said. "But I still have the carrying strap!" Carol smiled and Doug nodded. "Alright then. I'm going to bed. Love you!" Doug said and kissed Carol, then looked at Travis and stroke over his cheek. "Night girls!" he said as he turned to his daughters. "But daddy, it's not night anymore!" Tess said, pointing out of the window. Doug laughed. "But daddy was working all night and now he needs to sleep!" Doug answered and kissed Tess on the cheek. "Awright then", Kate said and kissed her daddy too.

"Okay…what do we need?" Carol murmured as she drove through the corridors of the grocery store. Tess and Kate were sitting in the cart and Travis was in the carrying strap, still sleeping. Carol stopped in front of the pregnancy tests. She thought about it for a moment. Sickness, dizziness, headaches. Didn't she have the same signs when she was pregnant with Tess and Kate? She shook her head but put a package of the test into the cart nevertheless. "Carol! Who is this little guy?" she heard a voice behind her and turned around. "Hey Carrie! This is Travis!" Carol smiled. "I thought you didn't get him?" Carrie said. "Yeah…all this was a little bit crazy…we have him since this morning and now I need to buy some stuff…we weren't even prepared!" Carol told her and Carrie nodded. "So, what do you think about SJ and Sandra?" Carrie asked as they went through the corridors together. Women talk, how Carol missed it.

Back at home, Carol laid Travis on the couch again and made sure he didn't fall off. Tess and Kate were watching cartoons and in the meantime Carol put away the groceries. The last thing that was in the boxes was the pregnancy test. "Hey kids…I have to go to the toilet. Can you watch Travis for a moment?" she asked as she went into the living room. "Yes!" Tess and Kate said both at the same time and stood by the couch, so Travis couldn't fall off. Carol went into the bathroom, getting nervous again. First she read the instructions of the package, although she knew it by heart already. "Okay…let's go through with this!" she said to herself and put the stripe out of the package.

When she was done, she left the stripe on the sink and went into the living room again. "Travis still sleeping?" she asked and the twins shook their heads. "No, he's awake!" Tess said and Carol smiled. "Great! Hey Travis! Hello!" she said and bent down to the little boy. "Welcome to the Hathaway-Ross home!" Carol continued with a smile. "Hey girls, do you want to help me now with his room?" Carol then asked her daughters and they were excited.

"Let's see what we have here!" Carol said, holding Travis in her hands and looking through some stuff that was still in the room. There were the Maxi Cosi seats that belonged to Tess and Kate, their cribs, a changing table and some other stuff. Tess and Kate found some soft toys and baby stuff and just had eyes for this. "We need to get some stuff out of here!" Carol said and she put Travis in one of the Maxi Cosis. "Okay, I think we need to get all the stuff out of here before we decorate the room!" she now said with a smile. "Good idea!" it sounded from behind and Carol turned around quickly. "Good morning, had a good sleep?" she asked and went to him to kiss him. "It was okay…you know how it is after night shifts…so buddy, let's get your room ready!" Doug said to Travis, put his little hand up and high-fived him. Carol laughed and shook her head.

Together they put out everything that was in the room. The walls were still white, so they needed some color. "I think handprints would look really cool…" Carol said after thinking about it. Tess' and Kate's eyes lit up. "Yours and Travis'" Carol finished and the girls jumped together in excitement. "Okay. Let me get the colors then!" Doug said with a smile and left the room. Carol bent down to her daughters. "I love you guys!" she said and kissed them. Kate made a face. "We know that, mommy!" she said and Carol laughed. "I couldn't say it often enough sweetie!" Carol answered and got up again. "And you little one, I hope you'll like your room!" she now said to Travis and kissed his cheek. "Oh yes mommy, I'll love my room!" she heard Doug talk in a silly voice as he came up behind her and hugged her. Tess and Kate giggled; they loved their silly daddy.

They placed handprints of Tess, Kate and Travis everywhere in the room, although Travis didn't cooperate a lot. However, the room looked really colorful now. "We should place our handprints too", Doug suggested when he looked at the walls, "and then the whole family would be immortalized!" Carol looked at him with a smile. "The whole family…" she repeated and handed him a tube of color. "No, first I need to go to the bathroom!" Doug said smiling and suddenly Carol remembered that the pregnancy test was still laying there. "Doug, wait!" Carol hesitated and ran after him. "What's going on?" he asked, standing still to wait for her. "I need to go in there first", she said and Doug saw that she was nervous. "Carol? What are you doing in there?" he asked with a smile. Carol took a deep breath. "I…I made a pregnancy test earlier", she answered, looking down. Doug nodded. "Oh yeah, the dizziness and sickness…" he laughed and Carol looked at him again. "C'mon, let's go take a look!" he said again and took her hand.

Slowly Carol went to the sink where she left the stripe earlier. "Holy crap…" she murmured, covering her mouth with her hands. "What's it saying?" Doug asked and Carol turned around to him. "I'm pregnant!" she said and a smile appeared on her lips. This was a dream come true; finding out about the pregnancy and Doug being there. He was here, from the beginning. They would have a baby again. Doug's eyes lit up. "Are you sure? I mean, did you read the package?" he asked kinda nervous. "A thousand times! Doug, we're having a baby!" Carol laughed and then he couldn't do anything else than kiss her passionately, being the happiest husband and father in the world. "We're really having a baby?" he asked again and Carol nodded. "It must've been this one morning where you wouldn't let me sleep any longer!" she answered and Doug nodded. "Yeah, I remember it clearly!" he laughed and Carol punched his arm. "So, this'll mean two infants again", Doug said then and Carol nodded. "Oh yeah…what a coincidence!" Carol laughed and hugged him again. "C'mon, let's go tell our kids about it!" Doug said and Carol nodded. "But first I need to pee!" he laughed and Carol shook her head with a smile.

Hand in hand they went back to Travis' room. "Tess, Kate…and sleeping Travis, we need to tell you something!" Doug said and the twins looked up to their parents, already thinking that they did something wrong. Carol smiled. "You'll get another sister or brother soon!" she said excited but the twins just looked at them with questioning eyes. "We aweady have Twavis!" Kate said and she stood up from the floor. Carol laughed. "I know, but yeah, well…you'll be big sisters again…isn't that exciting?" she said again. "Where is this baby now?" Tess asked then. "In here!" Doug said and pointed to Carol's stomach. "How did it come in there?" Tess wanted to know. Carol looked to Doug. "Oh dammit, this question came really early!" she laughed and Doug nodded. "A magician put it in there!" Doug said to her daughter with a smile. "A magician? What happened to the stork?" Carol asked but Doug just shrugged his shoulder. Carol smiled. She was so happy at this moment. Having Tess, Kate and Travis here and holding Doug's hand was the most beautiful thing in the world. "I love you!" she said to Doug. "And I love you too!" he answered and placed a kiss on her lips.

After Carol called at work to tell them about her maternity leave, Sandra came home from school. "I can see you're happy, that means, Travis can stay here, right?" she asked and Carol nodded. "He's sleeping upstairs in his crib already!" she answered smiling. "Awww this is soooo great! Congratulations!" Sandra said and suddenly she hugged Carol. Carol wasn't surprised at all, since Sandra grew really close to the family. "Thank you…and…I've got some other news too!" she said and Sandra separated from her again. "What?" she asked curiously. "I'm pregnant!" Carol answered and now it was Sandy who smiled. "I can't believe it! You tried so long and now that you have Travis, you get pregnant…just awesome!" she said and Carol nodded. "Yeah, good timing, I'd say!" Carol answered and they both laughed.

Doug was the happiest man in the world. How did he deserve all this? He had a wonderful wife, wonderful daughters, Travis was a wonderful baby and now he would be father again. He would be there from the beginning; he would join Carol for her first ultrasound; he would feel the baby kick in her stomach; he would be there for the baby's first breath. Somehow he thought this could only be a dream but when he watched his daughters and Travis sleep, he knew that this could only be reality.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The following nine month had been like an adventure for the Hathaway-Ross family. First, Sandra extended her stay in Seattle and Carol thought this was mostly because of SJ, but Sandra assured her that she wanted to be there when the new baby would arrive and also because she wanted to be with Tess, Kate and Travis. Tess and Kate celebrated their fourth birthday and they had a big birthday party which had to be in the house because in November it was snowing like hell in Seattle. Travis was a little heartbreaker already because all the moms "oohed" and "aahed" over him. He started to crawl with 9 months and his first tooth came out already. Carol felt great and happy. The pregnancy ran without problems and she was so happy that Doug was there all the time. He had tears in his eyes when he was at Carol's first ultrasound; when he heard the heartbeat of the baby for the first time. And he was a great dad. The first weeks Travis was with them, he got up at night to change his diapers or to feed him and sing a lullaby for him. Carol often heard him through the baby monitor when he was talking with Travis. Men talk, like he always said.

When Carol passed her supposed delivery date, she started to get impatient. She didn't want to be pregnant anymore but it felt like this baby didn't want to come out ever. "I'm so tired of this pregnancy…are my feet swollen?" she asked when she was sitting outside with Sandra, while Tess, Kate and Travis played in the grass. "No, you look beautiful!" Sandra answered with a sigh. "It will be here soon…don't panic, okay?" she continued and Carol looked at her. "Have you ever given birth to a baby?" she asked and Sandra shook her head smiling. "No, but I don't like to hear whining all day long!" Sandra laughed. "Yeah, sorry for that…but it's exhausting!" Carol answered and Sandra nodded. "Hey Trav…stop pulling Kate's hair!" Carol shouted to her son but then felt her first light contraction. "Oooh…God, I almost forgot how this is…" she said and tried to sit more comfortable. "You okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Sandra asked, now getting nervous. Carol shook her head. "No…it's over already. Don't panic, okay?" she repeated Sandra's word and Sandra smiled. "But don't give birth here; I don't want to be your midwife!" Sandra laughed and Carol gave her a look. "So, did you and Doug decide on names already?" Sandra asked. "Yes, finally. After Doug realized that Roxy Ross doesn't really sound good, we decided to name the baby Lea, if it's a girl. If it's a boy, we're going to name him Andrew. Simple and easy", Carol told her. "Any middle names? Would be only fair to Theresa Helen Ross and Katherine Sarah Ross", Sandra said and almost laughed. "No, not this time. We don't need more kids to be punished with middle names", Carol answered and rolled her eyes, "and don't ever mention them again!" Both laughed and continued watching the kids with their play.

Only three hours later Carol's water broke. "Please don't give birth here…please!" Sandra begged and Carol just tried to breathe normal. "No, but you need me to get to the hospital!" Carol said in pain already. "Alright…alright. Do you think you can handle some more minutes, so I can get the kids ready?" Sandra asked and Carol nodded. "Of course. This sure will take some hours, don't panic!" Carol answered. Sandra shook her head laughing. "Theresa, Katherine!" she shouted upstairs and Carol gave her a look again. "Haha, your fault, you shouldn't have mentioned their real names!" Sandra laughed. "Whaaaat?" Tess shouted back. "Come down here, put your sneakers on; we need to go to the hospital!" Sandra answered and the twins came running downstairs. "Don't run down the stairs girls!" Sandra said while she put the Nikes on Travis' feet. "Ready! Can we go?" she shouted into the living room. "Are you kidding? The contraction is over, I'm not going yet", Carol said. Sandra rolled her eyes. "Carol, we're going now, no matter if you want to or not!" Sandra answered and Carol got up from the couch. "Okay mum…I'm coming, I'm coming!" Carol said with a smile.

In the car Carol called Doug. "I'm on my way to the hospital, baby is coming!" she said. "Really? OMG, it's really coming?" Doug answered in excitement. "Yes, but stay calm, please. Meet you there in 15 minutes…10 minutes, y'know, Sandy is driving!" she laughed. "Tell her to drive safely…see ya!" Doug answered and hung up. "He's so nervous…" Carol murmured and chuckled. "So great you didn't lose your sense of humor!" Sandra said with a smile.

"Take a deep breath and then push, okay?" Dr. Jessica Parker said to Carol but she just rolled her eyes. "Oh man…can't I have a PDA?" she whined and Doug smiled. "Too late…baby wants to come!" he said, holding her hand tight. Then the next contraction came and Carol pushed as hard as she could. "Oookay, stop it there…just breathe…" she heard Jessica saying. "What?" Carol asked, as she saw the concerned look from her. "Nothing…we just have to wait for the next contraction!" Jessica answered. Carol looked to Doug. "Okay, forget the idea with more kids!" she said and Doug chuckled. "Four kids are totally okay for me!" he answered and wiped away sweat from her forehead. "Oooh, another contraction!" Carol cried out and she started to push again. "Good, go on…go on…once more Carol…and stop! Here's the head and look at this hair!" Jessica laughed. "Oh wow", Doug said, unable to form a whole sentence. "It's a boy!" Jessica said and held up the crying baby so Carol could see him. "A boy? We have a boy!" she said to Doug and he bent down to kiss her. "I love you, Care!" he whispered. This was the most beautiful moment he had in his life. "Daddy, I'm sure you want to cut the cord, right?" Jessica asked and handed Doug the scissors. "Oh, you bet!" he said and cut the baby's cord. "Okay, now you can cuddle with mommy! Congratulations, you two!" Jessica wrapped the baby in a blanket and handed it to Carol. "Hey Andrew…hey there!" she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Doug bent down and stroke over the baby's head. "He's beautiful", he said, smiling at Carol, happier than ever. He was there when his son took his first breath; he was there when he started to cry for the first time and he would be there to see him growing up. "I love you!" Carol whispered to Doug and smiled at him. Now their family was complete.

"You need to call our mothers…and Elizabeth; maybe you can call the ER?" Carol asked yawning, when she was laying in her room. "You mean, County's ER?" Doug asked. "No, the one in Bangladesh. Of course I mean County!" Carol laughed and Doug chuckled. "Don't you want to phone them?" he asked and Carol shook her head. "I'm too tired…c'mon Doug, they won't bite you through the telephone!" she answered. Doug smiled. "Well, you never know what Kerry Weaver is able to do!" he joked and Carol shook her head. "And then bring our kids in here; they need to meet their brother!" she said with a smile. "Yeah. Okay. And you're really sure *you* don't want to phone Chicago?" he once again asked. Carol took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll phone Chicago then!" she answered. "Thank you!" he formed with his lips and Carol nodded.

So she called the ER in Chicago.

"ER?"  
>"Haleh? Is that you?"<br>"Carol? OMG, hi, how are you? Is the baby here already?"  
>"Yeah, that's why I'm calling…we have a little son named Andrew!"<br>"Awww guys, it's Carol! They have a little son!" Carol could hear Haleh talk to the others and she smiled. She always wanted to stay in touch with the old gang, especially with Haleh.  
>"Congratulations honey! How are the twins, how's Doug and Travis?"<br>"Thank you! Oh, they're great, growing every day, Travis too, he's starting to walk already and Doug, well you know…Doug is Doug!" Carol laughed.  
>"Aw, I bet he's the happiest father in the world!" Haleh said.<br>"Yeah, we're all very happy! So, how are you? How's work? Any news?"  
>"Everything's still the same, you know what's it like here…do you miss it a little bit?"<br>"To be honest, sometimes I do! Y'know, working with you guys has always beengreat!"  
>"Oh Carol, don't lie to me! But visit us soon, okay?"<br>"Or some of you could come to Seattle to visit us!"  
>"Right, well, we talk soon okay? I've got to run now, Dr. Carter needs me!"<br>"Say hi to him from us! I'll send you guys some pics when I'm at home okay? And tell Susan to call me!" Carol said.  
>"She's not on today, but I'll tell her tomorrow! Congratulations again!" Haleh answered and they hung up.<p>

Carol smiled. She knew that Haleh would tell everybody about this phone call, a ritual they always did when somebody who wasn't working there anymore called. Yes, Carol really missed her old gang and Chicago sometimes, but since she had come here to Seattle, this was her home.

"Hello Andrew!" Kate said as she saw her little brother for the first time. "Honey, you said Andrew! I'm so proud of you!" Carol smiled at her daughter. "I already know how to say everything!" Kate answered proudly. "Alright then!" Carol said. "Alright then!" Kate repeated happily. "When are you going to come home again?" Tess asked her mother. "Mama!" Travis shouted and Carol kissed him. "I'll be home…let's say, in two days!" Carol told Tess. "In the meantime, we have to get Andrew's crib ready and paint him some pictures!" Sandra said with a smile. Tess and Kate nodded, smiling too. "Dada!" Travis again shouted as Doug came into the room again. "C'mere buddy!" he said and picked up Travis from Carol. "Helen is going to come next week, my mum is going to visit us on Sunday, and they're all very excited. I didn't reach Elizabeth, but I left a message on her answering machine!" Doug told Carol and she nodded. "I talked with Haleh; she was excited too and sending congrats!" Carol said, stroking over Andrew's nose. "And now look at that…every member of our little family is in this room!" she continued with a smile, taking Sandra's hand to show her that she belonged to this family too.


	13. Chapter 13

**_AN: Sooo...that's it! Last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed reading my fic!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

It was five years later when Carol looked through the mail and found a letter from Sandra. With a smile she opened it and started to read.

"_Hello Hathaway-Ross Family,_

_How are you all doing? I bet you're wondering why I'm writing a letter instead of calling, but a letter isn't so bad, is it? And I'm sorry for not calling for so long. It was just so much to do here, settling in again and manage everything for SJ's stay. Now we're sitting here back home in Austria in my apartment looking through all the pics I made when I was in Seattle and God, I miss you guys so much! I bet the ladies are struggling with boys already, right? Have Kate and Karen stopped fighting? Travis, my little chocolate bear, how is he doing? Is he still happy to have a little brother? I still can remember his laugh when Andrew was all happy that Travis sang a song for him. The kids have always been wonderful, four little sunshines that I'll always keep in my heart. I can't believe that they grow up so quickly. Once I held them as babies in my arm and now Andrew is 5 already, Travis is 6, and the twins are 9…I think I'm getting old! But once again, thanks for the cute video you sent me and also thanks for the pic, I love it! All four of them having fun in the lake…I wish I could've been there. Sometimes I even wish I could turn back the time so I could relive everything again. I heard from other au-pairs how awful they were treated in some houses (well, my first family wasn't really nice either), but with you I felt like being a member of the family. _

_Carol, how are you doing? Sometimes I miss the talks we had and every time I sit here and watch my "Friends" DVDs I have to think of you. Had always been fun to watch it together with you, and man - it was still airing on TV; I can't believe how quickly time flies bye. Did you manage to reconstruct the living room? Just a glass wall would look perfect, IMO. The living room has alwaysbeen the best place to be, even when it was raining. The view over the lake made it so special. Remember when we sat there with a bottle of wine and I tried to teach you German? Do you still remember what I taught you? This are the little moments I'll always remember. You've become such a good friend to me and I'm really, really thankful for everything you've done for me. Without you my time in Seattle wouldn't have been so great. _

_I hope Doug is okay too! Last time we laughed so much. I told my friends that I used to call him Dr. Ross in the beginning because I was too shy to call him Doug. But I guess we grew really close too, he was a good friend to me and helping me a lot (especially with SJ *lol*). I can imagine how much fun the boys must have with him. Carol, were you able to stop him from teaching the boys how to drive the boat? I know that Kate already knows how to drive it, but what about Tess? Did she learn it too? _

_Now SJ is urging me to tell you about the upcoming wedding. Yes, good news, huh? Well, where do I start? Okay…we're moving back to Seattle! AAAAH! Exciting! We'll be neighbors again and I can't wait to come back! The wedding is going to be in three months and we'll celebrate in Fisher's garden. What do you think – Sandra Fisher – doesn't sound so bad, does it? Oh and yes, I want you all to be there, it would mean a lot to me. Maybe Tess and Kate could be our flower girls, y'know, I don't have little girls in my family and the twins are my family too. I just expect them to think they're already too old for it, but I can't imagine Andrew running with flowers through the aisle. Well, we'll just think about it. Okay, I'll put the invitation in the envelope too and when I'm back in Seattle, we can talk about it. I so can't wait. I know I could've phoned too, but I wanted you to have the invitation too. I hope you, Carol and the girls will come with me to look for a dress! _

_Man…and all this because of you guys. I wouldn't have found the love of my life if I hadn't been at your place five years ago. I'm so thankful for everything you've done for me. _

_Okay, we need to pack now…somehow it's weird to leave everything here that belonged to me almost my whole life, but I know that Seattle is the place where I want to be. Even my mum said I should go back to Seattle because since I am back, I'm so "unbearable" and so "American"! Well, I just think she said it because she wants to travel around and visit Seattle, because I told her how beautiful it is there, when it's not raining. Of course I'll bring you Austrian chocolate and I can't wait to make "Wiener Schnitzel" with you again!_

_Give Tess, Kate, Travis and Andrew a kiss from me! I miss them but soon I'll be able to cuddle them again :D _

_Lot of love to all of you and best regards,_

_Sandy and Sebastian-James _

_PS: I also enclose a very, very nice pic I made from the kids before I had to leave *bawl* I don't know whether you've seen it already or not, but enjoy!"_

Carol wiped away a tear and smiled. She took the envelope again and found the invitation in it. It really was true – Sandra would come back, marry SJ and live here. Sandra was gone for one and a half year now but Carol missed her a lot. She wasn't just an au-pair anymore, she was a friend, a family member and letting her go back home really was hard for the whole family. Tess and Kate cried at the airport when they had to say good bye to Sandra. Travis hid his head in Doug's neck and Andrew wanted to go with her. Carol cried too and Doug didn't speak a lot. The following weeks she wasn't here anymore felt weird …like there was missing a piece. Carol knew that everybody would be happy about Sandra coming back, even when she wouldn't live in their house anymore.

"Mum! Why are you crying? Did you get the credit card bill again?" Kate asked as she took a seat beside her mother. Carol smiled. "No, but we got this!" she answered and handed her daughter the letter. Kate began to read it. "Oh my God, this is awesome!" she smiled. "What is awesome?" Tess asked, returning from swimming in the lake. "Sandy's coming back! She'll marry SJ here in Seattle…and guess what, they'll live here!" Kate told her sister. "Whaaat? Really?" Tess asked and Kate handed her the letter and she started to read it too. "Holy crap…" she murmured. "Tess! Guard your tongue!" Carol said. "Sorry, but how awesome is that?" Tess answered with a smile. "I know…I'm so happy!" Carol said. "I can't wait to see her again!" Kate then said and Tess nodded.

"To see who again?" Doug asked coming back with Travis and Andrew from a boat trip. "Sandra's coming back!" Carol said smiling. "No way…really?" he asked again and Tess handed him the letter. Doug laughed. "I knew it! So, the family will be together again huh?" he said and stroke over Andrew's hair. "Sandra's coming! Sandra's coming!" the little boy jumped around and everybody laughed. "Will she stay here with us?" Travis asked but Carol shook her head. "No, honey, but she'll live in SJ's house! And you'll see her every day!" she smiled and Travis, obviously satisfied, smiled back at her.

Only some minutes later there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it!" Travis said and ran to the door to open it. "Traviiiiisssss! Hey my little chocolate bear!" Sandra squealed and hugged him immediately. The others heard this and ran to the door too. "You're back! Finally!" Kate said and ran to her too. "Aww honey…good to see you again! And you too!" Sandra said to the others and everybody was smiling. "Welcome back! We just got your letter…when did you send it?" Carol asked as she hugged Sandra too. "Wow…almost two weeks ago…well, it's really a long way from Austria to the US!" Sandra laughed. "Congratulations Sandy! You've chosen the best neighbors in the world!" Doug chuckled and hugged her too. "That's the only reason I'm back!" Sandra laughed and then looked at Andrew who was standing behind Doug. "Why so shy, little one?" Sandra asked and bent down to him. "You didn't take me with you", Andrew said and looked at her sadly. "Aww honey, but I'm back now! It didn't take too long, did it?" Sandra asked and started to tickle him. Now Andrew was laughing and then hugged her. Sandra was near tears. "God, I missed you guys so much!" she said as she turned around to them again. "We missed you too! Soooo glad you're back!" Travis said smiling.

Sandra spent the whole day with them and they did nothing but talking. She wanted to know everything she had missed. And so the Hathaway-Ross family started to tell every single detail, like how Andrew broke his arm when he tried to ride the bike for the first time; or when Travis almost fell down from the tree house; that Kate was still fighting with Karen sometimes and that Tess started to take guitar lessons. Sandra listened to everything carefully and she felt like being home again.

**THE END**


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